The jam session

Abstract

This experiment describes a spontaneous jazz performance and shows that the jam session can be a useful tool for studying small groups. To determine why and how it works, the author brought together five jazz musicians and gave them three musical tasks. They also participated in a post-performance discussion and filled out a questionnaire to elicit their feelings about the workings of a jam session. The jam session may be a unique group because of the speed with which it coalesces and its use of nonverbal communication, but it also exhibits classic characteristics of small group sociology by conforming to several basic small-group models and principles. © 1983 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.